“I Get Sick of Talking About Him”: Nico Ali Walsh on Challenges of Stepping Out of His Loving Grandfather Muhammad Ali’s Shadow

It is often said that the legacy of one generation is the foundation for the next. But what if it becomes too much to bear? Nico Ali Walsh is all set to enter the ring again. Ten months after suffering his first defeat, Muhammad Ali‘s grandson returns to even the score with Sona Akale. The duo will clash at the Teofimo Lopez–Steve Claggett main card event in Miami. Needless to say, the most obvious question the young boxer faces is related to his legendary grandfather.

Banality often results in needless comparisons. When faced with a setback, as it happened in Nico Ali Walsh’s case last year, groundless questions are raised. Can he carry the family’s legacy on his shoulders or not? It’s not that the Chicago-born middleweight boxer isn’t aware of his heritage. However, at the end of the day, he is human. It truly becomes taxing when he constantly gets hammered with questions regarding Muhammad Ali without anything being asked about him.

Nico Ali Walsh: Balancing legacy, his grandfather’s and his own

Fight Hub TV‘s Matt Tucker caught up with Nico Ali Walsh as he awaited his turn for the weigh-ins. They started talking about the training camp and his preparation for the rematch. So Fight Hub TV’s reporter picked up on what Ali Walsh had said in the fight’s press conference. “That you you want to make your own way… you know, like, uh, it feels like every time someone speaks with you, they’re talking about your grandfather. You know talk to talk to me a little bit about that pressure and becoming your own man in this game,” said Matt Tucker.

‘The Legend Live On’ first of all clarified in clear terms. Under no circumstances has he ever meant any disrespect to his grandfather, Muhammad Ali. He had nothing but admiration and tons of love for the greatest boxer in sporting history. Though he has never revealed so much in interviews, the fact of the matter is that it often reaches a tipping point when people continue talking only about his family.

“I get sick of talking about him sometimes, and I don’t say that in interviews often because you know everyone wants to talk about him…so I’m constantly talking about him. Everyone’s got a story about him that they want to tell me, and I listen um but yeah, sometimes it just gets annoying…it’s like me talking to some about someone’s mom or dad every time I see them it’s just it’s just annoying…” said the soon-to-be 24-year-old middleweight boxer.

Matt Tucker quickly followed with another question. He wanted to know the kind of challenges he faces to come out of his grandfather’s famous shadow.

The ‘height and weight’ of expectations

Nico Ali Walsh made it clear that it’s never going to happen. Even if he charts his own route, he will forever be carrying Muhammad Ali’s legacy. but he highlighted a very poignant fact that many boxing fans would agree with. He said that, in fact, the whole boxing world will forever be indebted to him and what he has done for the sport.

The bright young boxer then made the recent attempt to draw an analogy between ‘The Greatest’ and Oleksandr Usyk. A few diehards should be aware. Both Ali and Usyk incidentally share the same date of birth. So last month, after he became an undisputed champion, Nico Ali Walsh recalled having come across online chats as to how the Ukrainian would have fared against Muhammad Ali.

In fact, the two share a lot of similarities, such as the same height, reach, and perhaps weight. “So the boxing world will forever be in my grandfather’s shadow. I’m just part of that world, and my my shadow is a little bit darker than everyone else’s,” said the scion of boxing’s first family.

Nico Ali Walsh quickly recovered from the majority decision loss to Akale. In a span of four months, he won two matches. ‘The Legend Lives On’ perhaps wants the square off against ‘Slink Proper’ to prove his mettle and seriousness about the sport. It’s been just three years since he began his foray into professional boxing. So in many ways, it seems unfair to burden a youngster with unbridled expectations. He should be allowed to carve out his own destiny while remembering that he is not going against, but carrying forward his grandfather’s great legacy.